Sep 24 2009
Obama: America's goodness = me
The tens of thousands of Americans buried in our National Cemeteries here and American Cemeteries on foreign soil, who died in the fight for the liberty of others around the world, can now rest in peace knowing that what is truly good about America comes from Barack Almighty’s concrete actions since his anointment last January.
‘Special Report’ Panel Rates Obama’s U.N. Speech – Special Report w/ Bret Baier – FOXNews.com
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We know the future will be forged by deeds and not simply words. Speeches alone will not solve our problems. It will take persistent action. So for those who question the character and cause of my nation, I ask you to look at the concrete actions we have taken in just nine months.
BRET BAIER, HOST: President Obama speaking here at the General Assembly at the United Nations today, interrupted several times for applause. But what about the speech overall and the message it sent to the world? Let’s bring in our panel tonight from Washington — Steve Hayes, senior writer for “The Weekly Standard”, Juan Williams, news analyst for National Public Radio, and syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer. Alright Steve, let’s start with you, an overview of your thoughts of the speech.
STEVE HAYES, SENIOR WRITER, “THE WEEKLY STANDARD”: I thought it was a terribly embarrassing speech.
Just think about the last sentence that we heard in the introduction there, “When you question the cause or character of my country, think about the concrete actions of the last nine months.” Basically what President Obama is saying there, think about me when you think about the goodness or the greatness of the United States. I think that is an unbelievably arrogant thing to say, and, sadly, it wasn’t the only thing that he said in the speech that was like that. I think the whole speech was filled with that.
I think what we saw today in so many ways is representative of the way that the Obama administration wants to elevate the United Nations and make it a serious global policy-making body. And it’s also emblematic of the way that the United Nations is a broken institution. You have Muammar Qaddafi, a rogue dictator, a crazy man, speaking — supposed to speak for 15 minutes, ends up speaking for some 90 minutes, filled with untruths, half-truths, complete nonsense. The United Nations was never able to enforce its resolutions on Iraq. It is not able to enforce its resolutions on Iran. It is not even able to keep Muammar Qaddafi from talking for more than 15 minutes. I think it was a dangerous speech in many ways.
JUAN WILLIAMS, NEWS ANALYST, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Well, I couldn’t disagree with Steve more. I thought it was a terrific speech. (Oh, please. Read the rest of what Williams had to say for yourself, if you must.)
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: I could see all the other nations racing to step up and do what the United States wants.
This speech hovered somewhere between embarrassing and dangerous. You had a president of the United States actually saying no nation can or should try to dominate another.
I will buy the “should try to” as kind of adolescent wishful thinking, but no nation can dominate another? What planet is he living on? It is the story of man. What does he think Russia is doing to Georgia?
But the alarming part is what he said in the same paragraph where he said that it is — makes no sense anymore– quote, “The alignments of nations that are rooted in the cleavages of the cold war.”
Well, NATO is rooted in the cleavage of the cold war. The European Union is rooted in the cleavage of the cold war. Our alliances with Japan and Korea and the Philippines, our guarantees to Taiwan and Eastern Europe are all rooted in the cleavage of the cold war.
Interesting noun, incidentally. So he is saying that is all now irrelevant. What does he think our allies are going to think who hear this?
Obama’s speech is alarming because it says the United States has no more moral right to act or to influence world history than Bangladesh or Sierra Leone.
It diminishes the United States deliberately and wants to say that we should be one nation among others, and not defend the alliance of democracies that we have in NATO, for example, or to say as every president has said before Obama that we stand for something good and unique in the world.
And it is not the equivalent, for example, of the alignment of Chavez with Ecuador and Bolivia and Nicaragua and Russia and Cuba and Iran. And that’s what I think is alarming about that speech.
via ‘Special Report’ Panel Rates Obama’s U.N. Speech – Special Report w/ Bret Baier – FOXNews.com.
